Bride Left Bald From Trichotillomania Gets Dream Hair for Her Wedding

For people who suffer from trichotillomania, something as simple as a bad day at work or a mean comment from a friend can set off a devastating pattern of pulling out hairs one by one for hours. In Ruth Sweet's case, a severe case of trichotillomania led to losing nearly all of her hair in addition to her confidence — but she's getting that back now thanks to an innovative procedure.

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Sweet, from Leicestershire, England, was diagnosed at age 14 with trichotillomania, an impulse control disorder that leads sufferers to obsessively pluck out their hairs, particularly when triggered by anxiety or stress. For Sweet, it started when her parents got divorced. The simple act of yanking out a strand of hair gave her a sense of relief, but it led to terrible consequences.

"I would spend hours searching for the right hair to pull and while I was pulling, I felt safe, like I had a security blanket around me," Sweet, now 25, told the Daily Mail. Individual hairs soon turned into massive bald patches; however, and Sweet's confidence plummeted. "[Most] women have about 150,000 hairs on their head and I think over the years, I've pulled every single one out," she says.

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During her teen years, Sweet would cover up her bald patches with headbands and by strategically arranging her hair, allowing her obsessive pulling to go unnoticed. "I would not eat or stop until I had pulled the right hair. It had to be thick and frizzy and have a big root on the end," she explains. "I would pull multiple hairs at a time and cause my scalp to bleed, which I would then pick at to keep the scab going."

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As an adult, she hid her painful condition from her now-husband for three years.

"[Josh] didn't know until around two and a half years ago that I was actually pulling my own hair out, as I concealed it so well," admits Sweet. "If he ever noticed any bald patches, I told him my hair was falling out on its own, and hid that I was pulling it out myself." Fortunately, he was able to support Sweet by letting her know that he found her beautiful "with or without hair" — a sentiment that led to Sweet shaving her head to finally stop pulling.

While she was eventually able to overcome her trichotillomania, Sweet was still left with bald spots all over her head and desperately wanted to restore her hair before getting married. After being turned down multiple times for treatment by the National Health Service, Sweet sought out a specialist. Their solution: an Intralace device, made from a hair-covered breathable mesh that both gives the wearer the hair of their dreams and prevents any pulling.

"The initial cost was £1,500 ($1,864 USD), but I have to go back for followups a couple of times a year," she says, adding that it has been "worth every single penny." The results speak for themselves, particularly when you see just how happy Sweet looked at her wedding to Josh.

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Her new tresses were beautifully styled into a half-up, half-down style that went perfectly with her gown and accessories.

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Not only does her hair look absolutely gorgeous, it really shows in her big grin that she's finally found her confidence once more.